37th largest plant in Missouri · 1969th nationally
North Fork Ridge Wind Energy Center is a wind power plant in Missouri with a nameplate capacity of 149 MW. It generates roughly 500.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 47,626 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 38% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | North Fork Ridge Wind Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Empire District Electric Co |
| City | Mindenmines |
| County | Barton County |
| State | Missouri |
| ZIP | 64769 |
| Coordinates | 37.38999, -94.51027 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFRW1 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 149 MW | Operating | 2020 |
| NERC Region | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southwest Power Pool |
Wind farms harvest kinetic energy from moving air using large rotor blades coupled to generators. Like solar, they produce zero emissions but vary with weather. Onshore wind capacity factors typically run 30–45%; offshore can exceed 50%.